Understanding planning · 13 min read
Planning application documents: what to read first
Understand planning application documents, officer reports and decision notices. Use a reading checklist, document table and worked example to inspect a case.
England · County council
Explore collected planning applications and decisions for Essex County Council. Search an address, application reference or proposal to find a record.
6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn. Received dates in our records: 12 Dec 1938 to 5 Oct 2026. Most recent record check: 14 Oct 2026. Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.
Explore published planning boundaries and follow their source records for designation details. Coverage varies: an empty map does not mean there are no restrictions. Check the council’s current maps and documents before relying on a boundary.
A boundary map is not available for this authority yet. Use council conservation-area and Article 4 guidance above where linked.
Download Article 4 coverage for all authorities (CSV)
Sources: Planning Data conservation areas and Article 4 direction areas. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Land at Colemans Farm, Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 29 Jun 2016Purleigh County Primary School,Pump Lane,Purleigh,Chelmsford,CM3 6PJ
Received 5 Dec 2003Land south of A1060 (Salt’s Green), Chalk End, Roxwell, Chelmsford, CM1 4NJ
Received 12 Oct 2022Clacton County High School, Walton Road, Clacton on Sea, Essex, CO15 6DZ
Received 18 Sept 2020Kirby Primary School,Halstead Road,Kirby Cross,Frinton on Sea,CO13 0LW
Received 13 May 2008Ashlyns Farm, Epping Road, North Weald, Epping, CM16 6RZ
Received 23 Jul 2019Land to the North of Hovefields Court, Hovefields Avenue, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1EB
Received 24 Jul 2015Little Warley Hall Farm, Ranks Green, Fairstead, Essex, CM3 2BG
Received 30 Nov 2013Northwick Park Junior School,Third Avenue,Canvey
Received Not publishedHeathlands C of E Primary School,New Church Road,West Bergholt,Colchester,CO6 3JF
Received 18 Jun 2003Land at Sandon Quarry, Southend Road, Sandon, Howe Green, CM2 7TE
Received 17 Dec 2019Land at Bellhouse Farm South
Received 3 Dec 2025Land At Royal Oak Quarry, Maldon Road, Woodham Mortimer
Received 19 Jan 2021Lakelands Primary School, Land off Wagtail Mews, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 8AL
Received 21 Nov 2019Hillyfields Open Space adjacent to Pyrles Lane, Loughton
Received 20 Feb 2019Roxwell Landfill,Chignal St James,Chelmsford,CM1 4TZ
Received Not publishedSt Nicholas Primary School,The Street,Tillingham,Maldon,CM0 7TJ
Received 14 Apr 1999Broxbourne Airfield,Nursery Road,Broxbourne,EN9 2JE
Received 22 Sept 1950Crumps Farm,Stortford Rd,Little Canfield,Great Dunmow,CM6 1SR
Received 12 Oct 2012Fambridge Rd Maldon,The Plume School,Fambridge Road,Maldon,CM9 6AB
Received 1 Aug 2000Drakes Farm,Russell Green Reservoir,Drakes Farm,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3BD
Received 3 May 1996Archers Fields,Burnt Mills,Basildon,SS15 6DX
Received 1 Oct 200212 Parsons Road,Manor Trading Estate,New Thundersley,Benfleet,SS7 4PY
Received 26 Aug 2005Land at Colchester Quarry (Bellhouse), Warren Lane, Colchester, Essex
Received 8 Nov 2022Records are ordered by application ID, not submission date. Use search to find a particular address or proposal.
View all applicationsStart with the address or application reference. Open a record to read the proposal, dates and available documents, then check the official register for the latest plans and consultation details. If nothing appears, check coverage before treating the result as a complete planning history.
How to search planning applications
Understanding planning · 13 min read
Understand planning application documents, officer reports and decision notices. Use a reading checklist, document table and worked example to inspect a case.

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Read planning drawings, floor plans, elevations and sections. Use labelled diagrams, a drawing comparison table and revision checks to understand a proposal.

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Understand planning approval rates with an interactive calculator, worked examples and comparison table. Check sample sizes, outcomes and coverage before comparing.
These figures describe applications collected by PlanningTrack for Essex County Council, across all dates currently available. They are a partial dataset, rather than an authority-wide performance measure. The date range does not establish continuous historical coverage.
The approval percentage is approved records divided by approved plus refused records. Pending, withdrawn and unknown outcomes are excluded. No percentage is shown until there is an approved or refused record.
Check collection coverage